Most catheters can be described as some sort of tube like device which is inserted into a portion of a person's body in order to transport fluids or gases in or out of that particular portion of the body. In passing through any particular portion of the body in order to reach its destination, the catheter will come into contact with various tissues in the body. For example, a catheter used to drain one's bladder (such as a "Foley" catheter) must pass through the urethral tract in order to reach the bladder. A nasogastric catheter must pass through the nasal passageway and the esophagus in order to reach the stomach. Some catheters, such as these, are inserted through existing passageways in order to reach their destinations, while others are inserted through surgically created passageways.
In virtually every catheterization, there is a significant potential for irritation of the tissues which come into contact with the catheter as the catheter is inserted and as it is withdrawn from the respective body cavity, passageway or body portion, and for microbial growth along the exterior surface of the catheter which can lead to serious infections such as urinary tract infections, bladder infections and the like. These infections can lead to sepsis of the bladder which is often fatal for incontinent patients who must be catheterized with an indwelling self-retaining catheter such as a "Foley" catheter.
In addition, there is a significant potential for irritation of the tissue in contact with the outer surfaces of the catheter during the period of time when the catheter resides within the respective passageway occupied by the catheter. This can be a very painful problem for the patient who must live with the irritation caused by the catheter as it rubs against the adjacent tissues in the respective passageway.
The rubbing and chafing which normally occurs is usually caused by unavoidable slight movements of the catheter tube resulting from movement of the patient. It will be appreciated that various portions of the catheter are often connected with equipment outside of the body which may or may not move in response to the movement to the body. When the patient moves the catheter must also move in reaction to the movement of the portions of the body to which it is engaged. Such movements may conflict with the lack of movement of an apparatus outside of the body to which the catheter is connected, or movement of different body portions may cause movement of the catheter with respect to one or both of the respective body portions which is inconsistent with the maintenance of relative spacial contact with outer surfaces of the catheter in one or both of the respective body portions. Simply put, body movement generally causes slight twists, pulls and/or pushes on the catheter which can rub, irritate and chafe against the tissues in the respective adjacent passageway or body portion.
It will be appreciated that this creates a great deal of discomfort for the patient who must be catheterized. In many situations, the most uncomfortable aspect of being hospitalized can be the fact that the patient must be catheterized for a significant period of time during his or her hospital stay. The catheter can be so irritating to one's adjacent tissues that the patient may become relatively tense and rigid because of their fear of movement which will result in further irritation of already irritated and sore tissues in areas adjacent to the catheter. This can virtually incapacitate a patient when the tissues become so sore that any movement causes significant pain and discomfort. It is also noted that irritated tissues are believed to be more susceptible to infection problems, so that irritation of the respective tissues adjacent to the catheter can cause an increase in the risk of infection which accompanies the patients discomfort.
The use of a nasogastric catheter is a obvious example of this latter problem. After the patient has been catheterized for several days, the nasal passageway and the throat invariably become sore. The slight rubbing of the tube inside these passageways each time the patient moves his or her head or body, causes extreme discomfort once the tissues have become irritated by previous rubbing and chafing against the catheter. Often, the passageway remains sore for a significant period of time after the catheter has been removed, and is a significant source of discomfort during the hospitalization or treatment.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a catheter which will address these and other problems associated with the prior art catheters. The present invention provides advantages over the prior art catheters and over the prior art methods for manufacturing catheters, and also offers other advantages over the prior art and solves other problems associated therewith.